Wire drawing machine



Oct. 19, 1954 J MCILVRIED HAL 2,692,042

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1948 s Shets-Sheet 1 s9 7: \W 65 w 60 66 1 altwv 6. W

a3 5 f e7 55 56 68 0 o IN V EN TOR5 EOW/N J. M IL VR/ED M0 BY NOE/149M H- NYE m fl w 21% Oct. 19, 1954 5 Mc|LVR|ED ETAL 2,692,042

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS EDWIN J. MILVR/ED AND BY NORMA V HJVVE ATTOIZ K/EY6 1954 E. J. M ILVRIED ETAL WIRE DRAWING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Shget 3 Filed Jan. 15, 1948 BY NORMAN H- NYE 0% (M04 Oct. 19, 1954 E. .1. M ILVRIED ETAL 2,692,042

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 v aw- 7 I5 47 I V 48 23 Z 26 INVENTORS EDWIN 1. MSIL VIZ/ED 440/ By Moe/441v H- NYE 1954 E. J. M ILVRIED ETAL WIRE DRAWING MACHINE s She ets-She et 5 Filed Jan. 15, 1948 INVENTORj 0W/A/ J. MILVR/ED Qlvo NORMAN H.NYE BY M 4M Oct. 19, 1954 5 MCILVRIED ETAL 2,692,042

WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .ZcgJO JNVENTOR5 EON/N J. M /L l/R/ED am,

By NORMAN H: NVE.

ATTO/ZN 5V6.

Patented Oct. 19, 1954 WIRE DRAWING MACHINE Edwin J. Mcllvricd and Norman E. Nye, Guyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignors to The Vaughn Machinery Company, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application January 15, 1948, Serial No. 2,497

4 Claims.

The present invention, having regard as indicated to wire drawing mechanism, relates more particularly to wire drawing machines of the so-called continuous type in which the wire is reduced to desired gauge by being drawn through a series of dies of successively smaller diameter. Still more particularly the improvements have to do with such a continuous wire drawing machine which is designed to produce fine wire, 1. e. wire of relatively small diameter.

One principal object of the invention is to provide a machine of the type in question which will be substantially automatic in operation, highly compact, and with all parts that require attention readily accessible. Included in such improvements is a circular or arcuate arrangement of the capstans or drums which are utilized to draw the wire through the successive dies, the latter being disposed in tangential relation to '18 inner faces of said capstans or drums; also improved means for driving the latter, and adjustable means whereby the wire may be drawn through a larger or smaller number of such dies depending upon the particular operation involved. At the same time improved means are provided for lubricating the several dies from a central lubricant supply.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechancal forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the continuous wire drawing machine embodying our improvements;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of said machine as viewed from the right in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is in part a vertical section and in part a rear elevation of the wire drawing mechanism proper, the plane of such section being indicated by the line 33 on Fig. 2;

Fig. i is an approximately central vertical section of said machine taken at right angles to that of Fig. 3, as indicated by the line l 4 on said figure and on Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of a portion of the machine appearing at the upper left hand corner of Fig. 1, as indicated by the line 5--5 on said figure;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the same parts, as indicated by the line 6- -6 on Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section of another portion of the machine taken on the plane indicated by the line lrl on Fig. 1, said figure showing one of the capstans or drums and associated parts;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of one of said drums, together with the support therefor, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 88 on Fig. l; and

Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 are sectional views showingdetails of the driving mechanism for the several capstans or drums and of the gear trains that form a part of such mechanism, the planes of said sections being indicated by the lines 9- 5, iill0, ll-H and l2|2, on Fig. 3.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the main frame l of the machine whereon the wire drawing capstans or drums, associated dies and the driving mechanism for said capstans or drums are supported, is of general rectangular form, said frame rising vertically from a base 2 which extends horizontally to the rear thereof and serves as a support for the motor 3 which is desirably used to drive the machine. In other words, each machine will be thus individually powered and so self-contained.

The upper portion of main frame i (see Fig. 4) comprises in effect three spaced-apart parallel, walls 4, 5 and 6. The first two of these are closer together than the second two, the space between which is laterally enclosed by walls 1.

Lateral walls 8 also project forwardly from the approximately vertical front face of Wall 4 and the corresponding space may be closed ofi by means of a door 9 slidably guided in grooves H0 in said lateral walls. When not used thus to close off such space, said door is received in the lower part of the main housing in which position thereof substantially the entire front face of wall l is exposed. This is the position of the door shown in Fi 4, while in Fig. 1 said door is shown as raised .So as to close off the lower half of ,the space in front of said wall 4. A handle H is provided on the door adjacent its upper edge, for thus raising and lowering the same, this movement being facilitated by the provision of a counterweight 12 on one end of a double-arm lever 13, the other end of which is pivotally attached to the door at point [4a adjacent its upper edge, through the medium of a link M.

The wire drawing capstans.or drums l5, shown as fifteen in number, but of which a variable number will be provided dependin upon the size and capacity of the machine, are carried by the forwardly projecting ends of a corresponding number of spindles 16 that are individually journalled in the vertical portion of main frame I in a manner presently to be described. Said spindles, and thus the drums carried thereby, are arcuately arranged about a common center, preferably, so as to form a complete circle, and are uniformly spaced from each other. It will be observed that such spindles and drums, together with the dies l! associated with the latter are contained within the space defined by the vertical front face of wall 4 and the lateral walls 8 that project forwardly therefrom so that all of the parts in question will be enclosed when door 3 is raised to its full upper position.

As will likewise appear from the description which follows, the several chains of ears which are required to drive the respective drum-carrying spindles are enclosed in the space between vertical walls 5 and 6 of the main frame, it being noted that such vertical wall 6, with lateral walls 7 carried thereby, is detachably secured to the intermediate Wall 5. Accordingly, by removal of said wall 6, the aforesaid driving gears are rendered accessible without necessarily disturbing the drum-carrying spindles.

Vertica1 walls 4 and 5 are connected approximately centrally of the circle of drum-carrying spindles by a hollow post 26, and the rear wall 6 is provided with an inwardly directed tubular projection 2| aligned with said post so as to provide a conduit 22 through which lubricant may be carried to a chamber 23 in the forward face of the front wall 4, such chamber being formed by a central circular depression in such face that is covered over by a plate 24 detachably secured to such face beyond such depression therein. The rear end 25 of conduit 22 is interiorly threaded to receive a connection (not shown) through which the lubricant under suitable pressure may be supplied to said conduit and thus to the chamber 23. Plate 24 is similarly provided with a threaded opening 26 aligned with the front end of said conduit 22, such opening being normally closed by a plug which upon removal permits access to the conduit. The manner in which the lubricant is distributed from chamber 23 to the several dies will be described in connection with the description which now follows of the manner in which the drum-carrying spindles are mounted in the frame. I

Each of the spindles I6, together with the drum carried thereby and associated die I1, constitutes a unit in itself which may be independently inserted in and removed from the main frame of the machine. In Fig. 4 one such unit will be found shown in side elevation in the lower portion of vertical walls 4 and 5 wherein said units are mounted, while in Fig. 8 such a unit is shown in central section on a slightly larger scale. Referring to such last-mentioned figure, such unit will be seen to comprise a cylindrical bearing shell 30 in which the spindle I6 is journalled, such shell being adapted to fit loosely in aligned openings 3! and 32 in vertical walls 4 and 5 and being held in place in such openings by being formed with a flange 33 adjacent its rear end, which is secured to such last-mentioned wall by means of set bolts 34. A sealing ring 35 mounted on spindle [6 adjacent the front end of the housing 36 fits closely within a ring 36 which is secured by set bolts 31 to the forward face of wall 4. It will thus be seen that the housing, together with the spindle journalled therein is firmly secured in place against any strain to which its outer end is subjected by the tension of the wire as it passes around drum l5. At the same time said housing, with the spindle, including a pinion 38 fixed to its inner end, may be readily removed by simply loosening the set bolts 34.

The drum 15 comprises two cylindrical parts 39 and 40 formed with complementary grooves 4| and 42 on their juxtaposed faces which are adapted to receive an annular member 43, the latter being firmly clamped between the parts 39 and 46 by screws 44 that are adapted to draw the latter together. It is around annulus 43 that the several turns of the wire being drawn will be normally wound, and to resist the wear to which it is subjected said member will preferably be made of hardened steel or special alloy.

The winding drum composed of parts thus constructed and assembled is adapted to be fixedly secured on the outer forwardly projecting end of spindle [6 by means of a set screw 45 that engages with a longitudinal slot 46 on such end. By means of such adjustable connections the entire series of wire drawing drums may be caused to lie with the wire engaging annuli 43 in approximately the same plane, so that as the wire passes from one drum to another in the circularly arranged series there will be no particular tendency for it to jump from such annulus to the adjacent cylindrical surface of any drum.

As best shown in Fig. 7, the ring 36, which surrounds the front end of spindle I6, is provided with a die holder 47 which is so disposed that when two adjacent drum-carrying spindles are mounted in place,said holder will support a die on a line tangent to the inwardly directed faces of the corresponding drums (see Fig. 1). As also shown on Fig. '7, a tubular duct 48 is oscillatorily mounted in plate 24 adjacent each such die holder 41, said duct communicating at its inner end with the lubricant supply chamber 23 and having a discharge opening 43 at its outer end through which lubricant may be directed onto a die in said holder. The specific construction of this lubricant supply duct, whereby it is also utilized to retain the die in place in its holder, forms the subject matter of a separate application filed by Walter E. Rogers and Norman H. Nye, under date of April 1, 1946, Serial No. 658,762.

The wire W to be drawn is brought to the machine through an initial die mounted in a boxlike housing 56 that is vertically adjustably attached to one side of the main frame 4 of the machine (see Fig. 1). The construction of such housing and the manner in which it is thus adjustably attached to the machine frame are best shown in Figs. 5 and 6. As there shown, the adjacent side wall 8 of the machine frame is provided with a series of vertically aligned openings El and the housing is conveniently secured in a selected one of such openings by forming the die holder 52 with a tubular extension 53 adapted to extend through such hole and threaded to receive a nut 54 whereby the housing may be securely clamped to such side wall. In the position shown in Fig. l the housing with its die holder 52 is located so that a wire passin through a die in such holder will be carried to the uppermost or first of the circularly arranged series of drums l5. However, by shifting the point of attachment of the housing downwardly to the next hole 5| in the side wall of the machine frame, such wire will be carried to the second drum of the series, and so on, the number of holes, and corresponding adjusted positions of the housing and the die carried thereby, depending upon how much variation it is desired to provide in the number of drums l5 actually used in a given drawing operation. In other words, by such adjustment it is possible to eliminate one or more of the drums and begin the drawing operation that much further around the circle, within the limits in adjustment thus provided.

Reverting to the construction of the housing 56, the wire is guided therethrough so as to be properly aligned with the die and holder 52 by means of a sheave 55 carried by an arm or bracket 56 adjustably attached to the side of the housing. A duct 57 for supplying lubricant to such die, having suitable exterior connection with a source of supply, projects through one side wall of the housing and the latter is provided with an opening 58 for draining away excess lubricant.

After being carried around the circularly arranged series of drums I5, the wire is wound around an additional drum 60 mounted in the upper portion of the machine frame, this drum being of the same construction and the mounting therefor being the same as in the case of said drums 15 previously described. A special holder Si is provided for the die, through which the wire passes from the terminal drum of the circular series to said drum 60, and an oscillatory lubricant supply duct 62 is likewise provided in proper relation to said die, said duct being of the same construction as that of the ducts previously described.

Supported on the machine frame above and to one side of such additional or final drum 6!] is a tension arm 65 which serves to maintain the wire in proper frictional contact with said drum to enable the same to draw the wire through the die in holder 6! and to guide such wire over an intermediate sheave 66 to a spooling device Bl where the finished wire is wound onto a reel or spool preparatory to its removal from the machine. The tension arm 65 is oscillatorily mounted by means of a spindle 58, the wire passing around a sheave 69 on the outer end of said arm. A tension spring 10, the tension of which may be adjusted by means of a nut l I, is so connected with the spindle 68 as to oppose rocking movement of the arm 65 in one direction (to the right as shown in Fig. 1), and thus maintain under tension not only the stretch of Wire between drum 6!} and sheave 69, but also between the latter and the spooling device. A suitable switch (not shown) is also associated with the tension arm 65, whereby operation of the spooling device is controlled so that the finished wire will be wound up by the latter at the proper rate.

Since the detailed construction of said tensioning device and spooling device form no part of the present invention, it is believed the foregoing description thereof will be suificient to enable the operation of the machine as a whole to be understood. So far as such operation is concerned, any suitable form of tensioning device may be utilized, and this is equally true of the spooling device.

The manner in which the several drum-carrying spindles are driven is best illustrated in Fig. 3, taken in connection with the several sectional views of Figs. 9 to 12 inc. It should be explained that in the particular machine illustrated, the circularly arranged series of such spindles is for driving purposes divided into two sub-series or groups which are suitably intergeared so as to cause all of said spindles, and therefore the drums carried thereby, to rotate in the same direction,

viz. clockwise as illustrated in Fig. 1. Power is applied from a driving spindle to the respective chains of gears which thus interconnect each such group, preferably at an intermediate point thereof. Thus, one such driving spindle 15, which is illustrated in Fig. 10, serves to drive the last eight of the fifteen circularly arranged drumcarrying spindles l6, as well as the spindle which carries the additional drum 60 that is located offside, i. e. above such circularly arranged series.

of drums. In the illustrated construction of the machine a second driving spindle I6 is employed to drive the remaining seven drum-carrying spindles IQ of the circularly arranged series. Said driving spindles l5 and 16 are respectively provided on their rearwardly projecting ends with plural grooved sheaves 15a and 16a around which pass belts ll that are driven by motor 3, as shown in Fig. 4. Mounted on the opposite ends of said spindles l5 and i5 respectively are pinions 15b and 16b which serve to interconnect said spindles with the pinions 38 on the inner ends of the drum-carrying spindles through suitable intermediate gears.

Several such intermediate gears 18 and the manner of mounting the same are illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. While the same reference numerals are applied to these gears, it is understood they will vary in diameter and number of teeth so as to provide desired speed ratios between successive drum-carrying spindles. As shown in the sectional views to which reference has last been made, each such gear 18 is rotatably mounted on a spindle '89 carried by a bracket 86 which is adapted to be secured by set bolts 8i to a plate 32 that is removably supported in the space between walls 5 and 6 of the main frame and in parallel relation to such walls. As a result of the foregoing construction, all such intermediate gears 18 may be selected, attached to said plate 32 through their respective brackets 89, and then brought into mesh with the corresponding pinions on the drum-carrying spindle 16.

In addition to driving the several drum-carrying spindles [6, that are integeared with one of the driving spindles, viz. spindle 15 as shown, there is also thus intergeared a spindle or shaft which is connected with a pump whereby a lubricating fluid is supplied to perforated ducts 87 and 88 located in the upper portion of the machine housing and adapted to spray such fluid over the gears and other operating parts therebeneath. Lubricating fluid is also supplied from another pump through the central passage or conduit 22 to the chamber 23, as well as to the duct 51 in the adjustable die box or housing 50. It has been deemed unnecessary to illustrate either such pump or the piping connections whereby such lubricating fluid is thus circulated through the ducts provided for this purpose.

The operation of the machine as a whole may now be briefly indicated. It will be understood of course that as a preliminary to such operation a proper selection of dies has been made and placed in the holders associated with the circularly arranged series of drums or capstans i5 and that the spindles it which carry said drums have been intergeared with each other and the driving spindles l5 and 16 so that the successive drums will rotate at the proper peripheral speed to maintain the Wire under proper tension. While there will be some slight slippage of the wire as it is passed around the drums, this can be kept well within permissible limits, especially where the tion in the number of drawing steps.

wire being drawn is of fine gauge, such as the present machine is more particularly designed to produce. With the machine thus set up, the wire to be drawn is introduced through the die in box 50, given a sufiicient number of turns around the drum which is aligned with said box, threaded through the die associated with said drum and thence carried around the succeeding drums of the series and through the dies respectively associated therewith. From the last of such series the wire is passed through die 6| and around the final drum 60 at the top of the machine, thence by way of the tensioning device to the spooling device. While, as shown in Fig. 1, the'die in die box 50 is aligned with the first of the circularly arranged series of drums, as previously explained, where it is not required that the entire series be used in order to perform a particular drawing operation, such box and die may be lowered so as to eliminate one or more of the drums at the beginning of the series with corresponding reduc- In such case the drums not utilized simply run idle.

It will thus be seen that we have provided a wire drawing machine of the continuous type in which all the parts are arranged in a highly compact manner, and that while they are securely mounted and housed, they are nevertheless readily accessible. This is particularly true of the circularly arranged series of drums or capstans employed to draw the wire, since by merely lowering the sliding door 9 all of said drums with associated dies and lubricating devices are immediately exposed in convenient reach of the operator.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. In wire drawing mechanism including a vertical panel, a plurality of closely spaced wire drawing drums mounted on horizontal axes arcuately arranged about a common center on said panel, and wire drawing dies arranged and disposed tangentially to the sides of the said corresponding drums toward such center; a central lubricant supply chamber, and a plurality of lubricant discharge ducts pivotally connected with said chamber for swinging movement toward and away from the die openings of said respective dies.

2. In wire drawing mechanism, the combination of a suitable support presenting an approximately vertical face, a plurality of horizontal spindles journalled in said support, said spindles being arranged approximately in a circle about a common center and projecting beyond such support face, a series of closely spaced wire drawing drums, one each of said drums being carried. by the projecting end of each of said spindles, respectively, a series of dies mounted on said support and lying one between each pair of adjacent drums on a line tangent to the inwardly directed faces of said drums, a housing attached to said support to one side of said series of drums, an initial die carried by said housing, means for selectively mounting said housing with said initial die in tangential aligmnent with the face of a selected drum angularly related to its inwardly directed face, an additional spindle and drum carried by said support and lying radially beyond a designated terminal drum of said series, and an additional die located between said additional and terminal drums, whereby selective positioning of said housing and initial die serve to determine the initial wire drawing drum of the series and accordingly the number of dies through which the wire will pass before reaching said terminal drum of said series.

3. In wire drawing mechanism, a support, a plurality of closely spaced wire drawing drums arcuately arranged thereon on parallel axes about a common center, and wire drawing dies arranged and disposed tangentially to the sides of said corresponding drums toward such center; a central lubricant supply chamber, and a plurality of lubricant discharge ducts pivotally connected with said chamber for swinging movement toward and away from the die openings of said respective dies.

4. In wire drawing mechanism, the combination of a support, a series of closely spaced wire drawing drums arranged thereon on parallel axes in a circle about a common center, a series of dies arranged and disposed tangentially to the sides of corresponding drums toward such center, a central lubricant supply chamber, a plurality of lubricant discharge ducts pivotally connected with said chamber for swinging movement toward and away from the die openings of said respective dies, a housing attached to said support to one side of said series of drums, an initial die carried by said housing, means for selectively mounting said housing with said initial die in tangential alignment with the face of a selected drum angularly related to its inwardly directed face, an additional spindle and drum carried by said support and lying radially beyond a desig-- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,062,036 Rooke May 20, 1913 1,196,664 Comins Aug. 29, 1916 1,322,904 Johnson Nov. 25, 1919 1,905,803 Clark Apr. 25, 1933 1,953,990 Rosebend 1 Apr. 10, 1934 1,972,746 McIlvried Sept. 4, 1934 2,044,484 Pierson June 16, 1936 2,266,407 Bruestle Dec. 16, 1941 2,467,722 Baker Apr. 19, 1949 

